It is silently ravaging our souls...

(HT: Z)

Mr Big Man and Ms 75-cent and our need for the Gospel

Why are subtle (and not so subtle) revelations of the female form so powerful? Why are they such an enticement to men? And what beckons a woman to reveal?

It's summer in Fort Collins and I'm asking myself these questions. There is a ritual in these months nearly as obvious as the dance of the whooping crane or the crested grebe. What isn't obvious is the motivation of this ritual... because it is deeper than animal instinct.

I prayed about this on a run last week. The trail seemed to be the hot spot for "the ritual" that day and my prayer was simple.

"Lord, what is going on in all this revealing and noticing?"

About a half mile later, things began to clarify. If the beauty of the feminine form is like a Mack truck in its effect on the male soul, the communication behind revealing it is like a freight train. The dude who lingers in his glance at the beautiful lady covered by 75 cents of material is receiving more than aesthetic satisfaction. He is hearing more than he is seeing. He is hearing something like "Hey Mr. Big Man, I'm interested in YOU and so I wore this today for YOU." Mr. Big (Drooly) Man is receiving a specific invitation that affirms him and that affirmation is like crack to the masculine soul. But all this affirmation is predicated on a specific communication. It means much less (and maybe nothing) if he isn't being specifically addressed in this non-verbal exchange.

Now, men, listen to me, Ms. 75-cent isn't communicating anything to you. In fairness, she may be looking to be noticed, but not by you. She doesn't know you. She is looking to turn heads not a head. Her call is a general one and you have received it specifically. Your hunger for affirmation will not be addressed here in this fantasy. As a matter of fact, if she was interested in you alone and you were to actually relate to one another, eventually she would discover your weaknesses and not affirm you in the way you desire (you know, in that "affirm-me-like-a-real-man-without-me-having-to-really-sacrifice-like-a-real-man" kind of way). You're not going to find it there. In actuality, a strong man would not reinforce her pattern of seeking to be infinitely delighted in by finite Mr Drooly men.

At this point if would be easy to go all moral and stuff but it would completely miss the point. To simply say "stop looking at her and wipe the drool off your face" to the men and "put this burqa on" to the ladies would be no help at all.

Dudes, you need an identity that transcends the ladies and what they think of you. You need real, not imaginary, propped-up, strength. And that comes not from your bench press, board room, impossible cool or lovely lady. Study what it means to be freely justified (Romans 3:23) and to be strong because the word of God lives in you (1 John 2:14). Satisfy your need for affirmation in the finished work of Christ and you'll stop reinforcing her pursuit of being cherished for what she doesn't wear. And you'll be less lame as a bonus.

Ladies, you are noticed if you are in Christ. You have the eternal affection and adoration of one whose opinion is the only one that matters.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; (Isaiah 49.15–16)

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, (Isaiah 61.10)

as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62.5)

Consider those engraved hands until your need to turn heads has been adsorbed by the turned head of your un-forgetting Savior (Ephesians 3:17-19).

This summer ritual of revealing and noticing only truly reveals our need for the Gospel. We need something beyond ourselves; something we can't achieve and others cannot give. The Bible calls it justification or righteousness and basically it is the notion that you have been given something far more important and lasting than all the ritual Cancun could provide - you have, in Christ, the eternal admiration and affection of God.


Additional Resources
What Biblical Femininity is Not
"The Weight of Glory" by C.S. Lewis

Preparation for Week 7 of "Kill or Be Killed"

This last week is critical. For your soul's sake, for the sake of your brothers and for the sake of the glory of Christ be prepared and be there on Wednesday. The resolution of Owen's entire treatise is in these final two chapters. Rumor has it there will be a nice little book table that morning as well.

Some highlights to consider this week:

"When God stirs your heart about the guilt of your sin, concerning its root and indwelling, or its breaking out, be careful that you do not speak peace to yourself before God speaks it. Listen closely to what He says to your soul.

Without careful observation of this direction, your heart will be very exposed to the deceitfulness of sin.

This is a business of great importance. It is a sad thing for a man to deceive his own soul in this way. All the warnings God gives us, in tenderness to our souls, to examine ourselves, are to prevent this great evil of speaking peace to ourselves without due warrant. This is to bless ourselves, without the blessing of God.
...
Let these great truths abide in your mind. Consider that He is exalted and made a 'Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel' (Acts 5:31). If He came to give repentance, then also mortification! True repentance must include mortification. Christ tells us that we obtain purging grace by abiding in him (John 15:3). To trust in the fullness we have in Christ for our supply is an important part of our abiding in Christ. Both our introduction into Christ and our abiding in Christ are by faith (Rom. 11:19-20)
...
Set your faith upon Christ for the killing our your sin. His blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls. Live in the light of Christ's great work, and you will die a conqueror"
Owen, The Mortification of Sin (Chapters 13 and 14)

Discussion questions for week 7.

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - message from week 1
The Fight for the High Ground of Affection - message from week 2
Fight the Right Battle ... And To Win - message from week 3
Worship: The Ends and Means of Mortification - message from week 4 (notes for your review)
The Gospel is the Missile for the Warhead of Worship - message from week 5
Be Killing Sin or It Will Be Neutering You - message from week 6

Reading Schedule
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6 (Discussion Questions)
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8 (Discussion Questions)
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10 (Discussion Questions)
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12 (Discussion Questions)
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14 (Discussion Questions)

Preparation for Week 6 of "Kill or Be Killed"

Our battle against sin is lifelong, relentless and essential. Sin renders us ineffective, cold and disconnected from God and it mars the reputation of the Gospel. If God has given us new life in his Holy Spirit, through the death of His Son, our hearts should be set to no longer be slaves to that which crucified our King. This week, let's seek a tender conscience and the humility that comes from our knowledge that God is far more powerful, holy, tender and just than we could ever understand.

"What shall I say to the Lord? His love, mercy, grace, goodness, peace, joy, consolation - I have despised all of them! I have considered them as nothing, that I might harbour lust in my heart. Have I seen God as my Father, that I might provoke Him to His face? Was my soul washed that there might be room for new defilements? Shall I seek to disappoint the purpose of the death of Christ? Shall I grieve the Holy Spirit, Who has sealed me unto the day of redemption? Allow your conscience to consider these things every day. See if your conscience can resist the way in which these considerations aggravate guilt. If this does not cause your conscience to sink and melt, I fear that your case is very dangerous. 
...
Have you not often felt that it seemed impossible that He could bear much longer with you? That He might cast you off, and be gracious no more? That all His forbearance was exhausted, and that hell and wrath were now prepared for you? Yet, despite this expectation, He has returned with visitations of love. Will you yet abide in that which provokes the eyes of His glory?"  Owen, The Mortification of Sin (Chapter 11)

Discussion questions

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - message from week 1
The Fight for the High Ground of Affection - message from week 2
Fight the Right Battle ... And To Win - message from week 3
Worship: The Ends and Means of Mortification - message from week 4 (notes for your review)
The Gospel is the Missile for the Warhead of Worship - message from week 5

"Kill or Be Killed" summary page at summitview.com (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC or #kobkfc)
A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
The Explusive Power of a New Affection - A very important sermon by Thomas Chalmers
A list of books available at the book table on May 12th

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6 (Discussion Questions)
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8 (Discussion Questions)
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10 (Discussion Questions)
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12 (Discussion Questions)
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

Fallen Right Down to Our Gender (video)

From the Rock's Noonies (a lunch-hour campus bible study at CSU), some thoughts on the fall and gender from Genesis 3. This is the second message in a series so, if you need some context, you can listen to the audio of the first message here.

Additional Resources
What Biblical Femininity is Not
Cheating the Thief - Week 1

Preparation for Week 5 of "Kill or Be Killed" - this and good sleep Tuesday night!

Over the last 4 weeks it has been a great privilege to witness over one hundred humble men band together to grow closer to God and further away from sin. The effect of this united pursuit cannot be overstated. Press on to know the LORD men, the Kingdom of God is advancing.

(Oh yeah and get some good sleep on Tuesday, that's part of the battle as well).

Here are some preparatory quotations and our discussion questions for Wednesday.

"Such a man as opposes nothing to the seduction of sin and lust in his heart but fear of shame among men or hell from God, is sufficiently resolved to do the sin if there were no punishment attending it; which, what it differs from living in the practice of sin, I know not. Those who are Christ's and are acted in their obedience upon the gospel principles, have the death of Christ, the love of God, the detestable nature of sin, the preciousness of communion with God, a deep-grounded abhorrency of sin as sin, to oppose to any seduction of sin, to all the workings, strivings, rightings of lust in their hearts. So did Joseph. "How shall I do this great evil," says he, "and sin against the LORD," my good and gracious God? [Gen. 39:9]. And Paul, "The love of Christ constrains us" [2 Cor. 5:14]; and, "Having received these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit" (2 Cor. 7:1). But now if a man be so under the power of his lust that he has nothing but law to oppose it with, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons, but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper arms of the law, it is most evident that sin has possessed itself of his will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest. 

Such a person has cast off, as to the particular spoken of, the conduct of renewing grace and is kept from ruin only by restraining grace; and so far is he fallen from grace and returned under the power of the law. And can it be thought that this is not a great provocation to Christ, that men should cast off his easy, gentle yoke and rule, and cast themselves under the iron yoke of the law, merely out of indulgence unto their lusts?
...
"Yea, know that this reserve will not long hold out. If your lust has driven you from stronger gospel forts, it will speedily prevail against this also. Do not suppose that such considerations will deliver you, when you have voluntarily given up to your enemy those helps and means of preservation which have a thousand times their strength. Rest assuredly in this, that unless you recover yourself with speed from this condition, the thing that you fear will come upon you. What gospel principles do not, legal motives cannot do." - Owen, The Mortification of Sin (Chapter 9)

Discussion questions

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - message from week 1
The Fight for the High Ground of Affection - message from week 2
Fight the Right Battle ... And To Win - message from week 3
Worship: The Ends and Means of Mortification - message from week 4 (notes for your review)

"Kill or Be Killed" summary page at summitview.com (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC or #kobkfc)
A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
The Explusive Power of a New Affection - A very important sermon by Thomas Chalmers

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6 (Discussion Questions)
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8 (Discussion Questions)
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10 (Discussion Questions)
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

A win beyond golf

Rick Reilly (ESPN.com) has a fantastic summary of Phil (and Amy) Mickelson's win at last week's Masters.

An excerpt:

"I saw Amy just before I putted," Mickelson said. "That was so great. I mean, I didn't know if she would be there. To walk off the green and share that with her is just very, very emotional. We'll remember this the rest of our lives."

Contrast that with Woods, who spent the week reverting to form -- acerbic answers, sprayed swear words, and curt interviews. He finished fourth, which shows that the golf game is very close. The personality makeover, though, looks like it needs some work.

Soon enough, though, Woods will win tournaments like this, pass Nicklaus, and order will be restored in the universe. But for this one Sunday in a flower-stuffed pocket of Georgia, the good husband, the good son, the good man actually got rewarded.

Preparation for Week 4 of "Kill or Be Killed"

"We must not call men to mortification, but to believing. Vows and the like to mortify sin, apart from saving grace, commonly make lust more impetuous. If victory is not gained, even for a season, it increases their guilt and torment. Is not mortification without conversion like making bricks without straw?"

"We must hate all sin, as sin, an not just that which troubles us. Love for Christ, because He went to the cross, and hate for sin that sent Him there, is the solid foundation for true spiritual mortification. To seek mortification only because a sin troubles us proceeds from self-love. Why do you with all diligence and earnestness seek to mortify this sin? Because it troubles you and takes away your peace, and fills your heart with sorrow, trouble and fear, and because you do not have rest through it? Yes, but, friend, you have neglected prayer and reading! You have been vain and loose in your conversion with other things. These are just as sinful as the one that troubles you. Jesus Christ bled for them also. Why do you not set yourself against them? If you hate sin as sin, and every evil way, you would be watchful against everything that grieves and disquiets the Spirit of God. You would not be concerned only about the sin that upsets your own soul!"

John Owen, "The Mortification of Sin" [47, 50-51]

We will work our way a little further down the rabbit hole of our sin, its roots and our weapons against it on Wednesday, April 21st. Don't give up now men...don't quit, God has much in store for us!

Here are the discussion questions.

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - message from week 1
The Fight for the High Ground of Affection - message from week 2
Fight the Right Battle ... And To Win - message from week 3

A "Kill or Be Killed" summary page (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC or #kobkfc)

A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence

The Explusive Power of a New Affection - A very important sermon by Thomas Chalmers

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6 (Discussion Questions)
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8 (Discussion Questions)
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

Wars are not won on defense: Week 3 "Kill or Be Killed"

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.(Psalms 51.10–12)

Sin is more about what we have lost than what we have gained...
In this famous Psalm of repentance, David begs God to create in him a "clean heart" by restoring something. David's murderous pride and lust was the result not of gaining something (power and the sight of Bathsheba bathing, for instance) but of losing something. He had lost the joy of his salvation. The battle against sin is lost when we lose our gratitude for the cross and all that it has accomplished (Col. 1:13). Consider Christ's words to the church in Ephesus:

“ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent (Revelation 2.2–6)

No matter how hard we work for God our lampstand is in jeopardy if our work is not motivated by the joy of our salvation. If it that is lost, our first priority is to regain it.

Traditional "accountability groups" do not work...
Here's why: In most American accountability groups, men gather together (generally for no more than about 10 consecutive weeks) to recount their weaknesses and sin. This is necessary (1 John 1:5-10) but only defensive. The fight against sin is only after it has occurred. Worse yet, any "clean bill of spiritual health" exults us while sin may still exist in the heart! So goes the defensive accountability group - arriving late to the battle and never striking any definitive blows against the enemy.

These "sin-reporting" accountability groups have this as their war-time strategy:

"OK, men. I want you to head out into that battlefield and wait. Stand there and wait. Don't pull a trigger, don't launch a mortar, don't call in for reinforcements, don't swing a sword until the enemy has moved behind your lines and struck a definitive blow. Then, after this initial decimation, fight with all your might and then only at the periphery of the enemies' formation, never at the heart."

Wars are not won on these terms.

We must go on the offensive
We must go on the offensive with sin, to gain what we have lost and, for believers, every sin can be traced back to a loss of joy for our salvation. We gain that joy in at least three ways.

1) Through obedience. It is easy to think that obedience is a pathway to sanctification. Our holiness is determined by our obedience... right? In 1 John the apostle presents another, more compelling reason for obedience in the justified believer.

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3.10)

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. (1 John 3.14)

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; (1 John 3.18–19)

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (1 John 3.24)

The presence of sin in our lives creates a downward spiral. As we sin, like David (1 Chron. 21:30) we "feel" condemned and our confidence (Hebrews 4:16) erodes. This does violence to the joy of our salvation. Conversely, obedience reveals the gracious presence and power of the Holy Spirit in us; a deposit guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 5:5). This confirmation reinforces the joy of our salvation and kills the root of our lusts.

Beyond obedience to God's law, we must also obey the Gospel.

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them,“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6.28–29)

[God will inflict] vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, (2 Thessalonians 1.8-9)

Obedience to the Gospel is a matter of trust. What do we trust for our salvation, our comfort, our security, our identity, our life and our joy? When the answer is "the Gospel" then we are obeying the Gospel. When we trust in anything else, either our self-righteous effort or our self-centered indulgences, we are disobeying the Gospel. This disobedience, again, diminishes our confidence and damages the joy of our salvation - a loss which opens us to more sin.

Obedience is offensive, not to gain justification (or sanctification) but to be secure in it and to have that security change our affections.

2) Through prayer. In Psalm 51, David prays for the restoration of his joy. He prays because the restoration is God-dependent. Paul's prayers for the churches are very similar (Phil. 1:9-11, Eph. 1:15-18, Eph. 3:14-19 and Col. 1:9-12). Asking God to help us see the greatness of what He has done for us and the glory of His Son is a major offensive to gain new ground in the heart. As God answers this prayer, our greatest joys are found in what we have already received in Christ and that crushes sin.

3) Through good use of the weapons God has provided for the war...
Which is our topic for next week.

For now, remember defense is not enough in the battle against sin. We must be offensive.

"Thus, our victory of mortification will be realized to a large extent as we weaken lust's presence and enticements. We must implant, promote the continual residence of, and cherish those graces that stand in direct opposition to the lust. So, for example, by the implanting and growth of humility, pride is weakened. Passion is weakened by patience, uncleanness by purity of mind and conscience, and love of this world by heavenly-mindedness. These graces of the Spirit, as they are expressed in various ways, weaken the perplexing lusts that wage their warfare against us.

Our victory will be further realized as the new man immediately springs into action, and cheerfully fights against the lust the moment it appears. We must use ever weapon available to conquer it!" - John Owen

Additional Resources
Fight at the right time and fight to win - Message from Week 3 of "Kill or Be Killed"
Fill in the Margins - offensive weapons galore
The Explusive Power of a New Affection - A very important sermon by Thomas Chalmers
Discussion Questions for Week 3 (Chapters 5 and 6 of Mortification of Sin)

Get ready for week three of "Kill or Be Killed"

Here are the discussion questions for Chapter 5 & 6. I leave you with this interview of Tiger after the Masters as a perfect example of a soul that has not yet killed it's sin.

“A man may be sensible of a lust, set himself against the eruptions of it, take care that it shall not break forth as it has done, but in the meantime suffer the same corrupted habit to vent itself some other way...

He that changes pride for worldliness, sensuality for Pharisaism, vanity in himself to the contempt of others, let him not think that he has mortified the sin that he seems to have left. He has changed his master, but is a servant still.” -John Owen

And, by the way, Mickelson was all class ... the contrast between the two was a remarkable lesson.

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - the message from week 1
The Fight for the High Ground of Affection - the message from week 2

A "Kill or Be Killed" summary page (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC or #kobkfc)

A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
Purchase Mortification of Sin from MongerismBooks.com

The first two chapters of the book in .pdf
Chapters 3 and 4 in .pdf
Chapters 5 and 6 in .pdf

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6 (Discussion Questions)
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

Kill or Be Killed Week 2: The Battle for the High Ground of Affection

Here is a summary of the supplementary message to our study of Puritan pastor John Owen's work "The Mortification of Sin":

David's "Chronicled" Sin
Several months ago my curiosity was aroused at the record of David's life in 1 Chronicles. The author records one sin in David's life. Obviously David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba right? Actually it isn't. Chronicles only records David's census. Why?

Being written at the end of Israel's exile, Chronicles has a nationalistic bent and the rule of David is emphasized as the high-water mark in Israel's history. Some would say the omission of David's adultery was an effort to polish David's reputation, but then why mention the census at all? It could be that the author felt that the whole David and Bathsheba thing was so well known that it didn't bear repeating but, certainly, the census was well known as well. Seventy thousand men died under God's judgment. Generations of families would have been touched by that tragedy. No, the most likely scenario is that the author of Chronicles only lists the census because the census was sufficient to highlight the decay of David's life during this time.

From "God's own heart" to "his own exultation": a decay of affections
A clear theme from the book of Chronicles is the contrast between seeking God and forsaking Him. In 1 Chronicles 20 and 21 we see David's heart lose it's God-centered focus and turn to increasing his sense of self-importance.

First Chronicles 20:1 records a classic line of Old Testament literature is:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led out the army and ravaged the country of the Ammonites and came and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 20.1 (also recorded in 2 Samuel 11:1)

David, a warrior who always fought with his men, stayed home even when other kings went to war. In his mind, he was too important to risk on the battlefield. So he rested on the couch and watched ESPN while his mighty men defeated the Ammonites. Worse yet, after defeating the Ammonites, David does something makes the blood run cold. He puts on the Ammonite king's 75-pound gold crown. The image is a harbinger of the change in David's heart. Who could imagine this man, who refused to drink the water that 3 soldiers retrieved for him from behind enemy lines (their sacrifice for him being such an honor), would place a gaudy, plundered crown on his head - plundered from a battle he didn't fight! It is clear that something had gone astray in David's heart. This is why the census was so serious - it flowed from a self-exalting heart.

Notice the ever-gaping hole of sin before David. Staying home from battle wasn't sufficient to secure a sense of importance nor was a 75-pound crown. David needed an accurate accounting of the size of Israel's fighting force because, in his mind, the kingdom was a reflection of his importance. The kingdom was his.

Fight the right battle
Joab, knowing the heart of his friend and king, pleads with David to reconsider his decision but Joab's pleas are too late. David's heart is fully engaged in his decision because his sin took hold before the census.

This is a great picture of sin in our own lives. Our consciences can be trained to engage at the point of action when, in reality, we are well into our sin at that point. All efforts to stop us at that point are as futile as Joab's pleas. Our affections for something else have full strength now and changing our course is impossible (James 1:12-15). We might deter our actions for a time, but our affections always prevail in the end. To kill sin, we have to fight the right battle and it is a battle for our affections.

“It [unmortified sin] untunes and unframes the heart itself by entangling its affections."

“Fear, desire, hope, which are the choice affections of the soul, that should be full of God, will be one way or other entangled with [sin]"

“Were any of us asked seriously what it is that troubles us, we must refer it to one of these heads [strength, comfort, power, peace]”

-all John Owen in Mortification of Sin

We must recognize that, when we feel a need for strength, comfort, power or peace we are at the crossroads of sin and worship. What will we pursue to find these things? Our choices here reflect our heart and reveal our sin and it is here we must fight.

But how?

We will answer that in the weeks to come but for now consider this hint found in David's song of repentance in Psalm 51. Here he begs God to restore what he had lost and what had led to his adultery with Bathsheba.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalms 51.10–12)

The battle is for joy... in the right things.

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - the message from week 1
The Fight for the High Ground of Affection - the message from week 2

A "Kill or Be Killed" summary page (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC or #kobkfc)

A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
Purchase Mortification of Sin from MongerismBooks.com

The first two chapters of the book in .pdf
Chapters 3 and 4 in .pdf
Chapters 5 and 6 in .pdf

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

Week 2 of "Kill or Be Killed" is coming! #kobkfc

When men are troubled with the guilt of a sin that has prevailed over them, they promise themselves and God that they will sin thus no more, but they seek to accomplish their own victory. They watch over themselves and pray for a short season until the pain of conviction waxes cold and the sense of sin wear off. Mortification then also goes out the door, and sin returns to its former dominion.
These ways are not sufficient.

There is no self-endeavor that can accomplish mortification. Almighty energy is necessary for its accomplishment.

-John Owen, "Mortification of Sin", Banner of Truth Trust, Chapter 3 [16-17]

And here are the discussion questions...

Additional Resources
A "Kill or Be Killed" summary page (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC or #kobkfc)

The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - the message from week 1
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"

A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
Purchase Mortification of Sin from MongerismBooks.com

The first two chapters of the book in .pdf
Chapters 3 and 4 in .pdf
Chapters 5 and 6 in .pdf

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

Kill or Be Killed Week 1: The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the War Within)

Week 1: Summary
We all have seen it. A man whose life looks vibrant and healthy on the outside is discovered to be rotting and cold on the inside. Indeed we all live with an outer shell and, yet, it is our internal world that determines our course. The battle for our lives is subterranean. It begins in the heart. If we are going kill our sin (Romans 8:13, Col. 3:5) and its effects we must become men who fight on the battleground of the heart.

The theme of David's life: "The LORD looks at the heart"

But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:14)

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16.7)

As a lowly shepherd boy with nothing, David's heart was humble, God-glorifying, sensitive to sin and grateful. When everyone around him saw pride and presumption, God looked on David's heart a saw good. And, at the pinnacle of his life, while the world saw success and blessing, God saw a growing pride. David's outward life was not a good measure of his inward state. It was the inward life that led his decisions and it was there that God fixed his gaze.

The same is true for us. There is a day when all that is internal will come to light.

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. (1 Corinthians 4.3–5)

So it is sinful, lustful, hateful attitudes that we must put to death. To desire this mortification is the distinctive mark of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart. To be unaffected by our sin, without grief at its presence and to allow it to land killer blow after killer blow is very treacherous territory indeed (Hebrews 3:12-15).

And here we begin the battle...

Additional Resources
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - the message from week 1
A "Kill or Be Killed" summary page (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC )
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
Purchase Mortification of Sin from MongerismBooks.com
The first two chapters of the book in .pdf
Chapters 3 and 4 in .pdf

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

Kill or Be Killed Schedule Change!

DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24th WE HAVE CHANGED THE SCHEDULE FOR KILL OR BE KILLED

We are excited for as many as 125 men to attend this year's Spring Training For Men!

This is something we want to begin with a bang and today's weather will definitely prevent a large number of men from attending. So we will begin next week (3/31) at 6am in the auditorium.

Please pray for God to work something deep into our hearts. This is a tremendous opportunity.

Here is the new schedule.

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
Purchase Mortification of Sin from MongerismBooks.com (I have ordered 30 more copies and they will be here on Sunday. These are reserved for those who requested them last Sunday. If there is a need for more, let me know and I will order some more. They are $7.)
The first two chapters of the book in .pdf

"I Make War" by Tedashi - preview to #KillorBeKilled

To whet the appetite for this year's Spring Training For Men...
HT: John Larsen

Additional Resources
Don't Waste Your Life - Lecrae
Fill in the Margins
Kill or Be Killed Intro
The Feedback Loop of Atheism and Porn

Counterfeit Masculinity

From "Future Men" by Doug Wilson

Counterfeit masculinity excels at making excuses. Because the "masculinity" is a matter of pride, not humble acceptance of responsibility, then anything which threatens that pride must be rejected. One of the things which always threatens pride is any kind of failure, and the way that insecure males deal with this is through making excuses. True masculinity accepts responsibility, period, while false masculinity will try to accept responsibility only for success. This is a key distinction and is worth pursuing at some length.
...
Boys must learn to say, regularly - to God, to others, and to themselves - that they were wrong when they were wrong, and that they were responsible when they were responsible. When they do this, they will discover that authority, naturally flows to those who take responsibility. That same authority naturally flees from those who seek to shift responsibility or the blame. When boys learn to do this, they are learning what it means to be a young man. When young men learn to do this, they are learning what it means to be a grown man.

Additional Resources
The "Men" posts at "...all things new"
The Men's Ministry Podcast at Summitview

"Kill or Be Killed" 2010 Spring Training for Men

In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4.3–7)

"In this we see the deceitfulness of sin. It gradually prevails to harden man's heart to his ruin (Heb. 3:12-13). Sin's expression is modest in the beginning but, once it has gained a foothold, it continues to take further ground and presses on to greater heights. This advance of sin keeps the soul from seeing that it is drifting from God. The soul becomes indifferent to the seed of sin as it continues to grow. This growth has no boundaries but utter denial of God and opposition to Him. Sin precedes higher by degrees; it hardens the heart as it advances. This enables the deceitfulness of sin to drive the soul deeper and deeper into sin. Nothing can prevent this but mortification." John Owen, Mortification of Sin, Banner of Truth Trust, Chapter 2

God's words to Cain reveal that sin is a volitional force. It has intentions to devour. Owen tells us that nothing can stop the intentions of sin that remains alive. We can't harbor a little sin, a little love for it's intentions, without it growing to harden and destroy us. "Be killing sin" Owen reflects "or it will be killing you."

This year's Spring Training for Men entitled "Kill or Be Killed" will take a serious look at sin through the writings of puritan pastor John Owen in his classic "Mortification of Sin" and the life of King David. "Kill or Be Killed" will begin on Wednesday March 24th (6:00am to 7:30am at the Summitview building) and last 7 weeks. Each meeting will consist of book discussion and a short (<30 minute) message the life of David, specifically where David did or did not kill the sin in his life.

Men, this is an issue we cannot ignore. We need more than accountability groups. We need to do more than stop certain behaviors. We must hate and kill the sinful intents within them and, by the power of the Spirit, we can (Romans 8:13). Without this intentional focus, sin will gain ground over time to the destruction of our lives and those around us. Please listen to this introduction and prayerfully consider joining with other men for these 7 weeks.

Reading Schedule*
March 24th - Chapters 1 and 2
March 31st - Chapters 3 and 4
April 7th - Chapters 5 and 6
April 14th - Chapters 7 and 8
April 21st - Chapters 9 and 10
April 28th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 5th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.

If your schedule prevents you from attending email our office and let them know your interest in participating in a discussion group at a different time. We will contact you the week prior to March 24th and help you find a off-time group.

Additional Resources
A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
Purchase Mortification of Sin from MongerismBooks.com (we will also have copies available on Sundays for $7)

The "feedback" of atheism and porn (or any willful sin)

A recent conversation with a friend helped me see something chilling about sin. This friend is looking at porn and, simultaneously, discovering a growing doubt in his soul. This is because every indulgence of pornography must include some level of atheism. To keep looking we have to believe:

• God is not there.
  
• God is not good (at least He is holding out on me, so I will get what I want for myself).
• God does not see.
• God doesn't care about my sin.

To do what God forbids, at least one of these prerequisite beliefs is required. I couldn't look at porn if Jesus were physically present. (Some of the more hardened types might think they could, but my guess is they aren't free with their viewing when any person walks in the room). So I must repress the idea that he sees, cares about and must deal with my sin.

The problem with "believing" these things (even temporarily) is that I cannot plant the seed and not expect it to grow. Puritan pastor John Owen said it this way:

"Every time sin rises to tempt or entice, it always seeks to express itself in the extreme. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression; and every unbelieving thought would be atheism. It is like the grace that is never satisfied."

So the temporary atheism required to willfully sin will increase to more lasting doubt in God and His promises. This doubt will open the way for more sin. It is a feedback loop that leads to hardness of heart. We shouldn't be surprised if we find a growing doubt in the midst of our willful sin. We are fostering it.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. (Hebrews 3.12–14)

There is much more than morality at stake here. With every click (or any willful sin) you are choosing to lose softness to God and your original confidence in the gospel.

Stay Tuned...
This year's Spring Training for Men starts on 3/24 (for 7 weeks) and will include reading "The Mortification of Sin" by John Owen (I have purchased 40 copies)

Sally Jenkins (Washington Post) on Tim Tebow

(HT: Josh Harris)

Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins writes about the controversial pro-life commercial Tim Tebow helped make for the Super Bowl:

I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.

Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn't be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't.

Read the full article

"Real Women Are Bad Porn" - Carolyn McCulley

What affect does porn really have on men and their relationships? The common responses range from an unhealthy male sex drive to violence to encouraging promiscuity in women as a key to finding men but there is more.

From Carolyn McCulley's book "Radical Womanhood":

Some argue that today's raunch culture is a reaction to the omnipresence of pornography. In order to get and keep a man's attention, women feel the that they have to act and look just like porn stars. According to a New York magazine article, on Manhattan-based sex therapist says she's seen many young men coming in to chat about Internet-related porn issues. "It's so accessible, and now, with things like streaming video and Webcams, guys are getting sucked into a compulsive behavior," she says. "What's most regrettable is that it can really affect relationships with women. I've seen some young men lately who can't get aroused with women but have no problem interacting on the Internet. I think a big danger is that young men who are constantly exposed to these fake, always-willing women start to have unreal expectations from real women, which makes them phobic about relationships."

Feminist writer Naomi Wolf agrees. "The ubiquity of sexual images does not free eros but dilutes it," Wolf writes. "Today, real naked women are just bad porn."

Twenty years down the line from the "porn wars" of second-wave feminism, Wolf notes that part of what was forecasted then has come true now - and part was wrong. In an article titled "The Porn Myth," Wolf writes of running into antiporn feminist [Andrea] Dworkin at a benefit which caused her to reflect on what Dworkin had one prognosticated.

If we did not limit pornography, she argued-before Internet technology made that prospect a technical impossibility - most men would come to objectify women as they objectified porn stars, and treat them accordingly. In a kind of domino theory, she predicted, rape and other kinds of sexual mayhem would follow...

She was right about the warning, wrong about the outcome. As she foretold, pornography did breach the dike that separated a marginal, adult, private pursuit from the mainstream public arena. The whole world, post-Internet, did become pornographized. Young men and women are indeed being taught what sex is, how it looks, what its etiquette and expectations are, by pornographic training - and this is having a huge effect on how they interact.

But the effect is not making men into raving beasts. On the contrary: The onslaught of porn is responsible for deadening male libido in relation to real women, and leading men to see fewer and fewer women as "porn-worthy." Far from having to fend off porn-crazed young men, young women are worrying that as mere flesh and blood, they can scarcely get, let alone hold, their attention."

Additional Resources:

Porn-Again Christian - a frank discussion on pornography by Mark Driscoll, download it free here.

Carolyn McCulley's Blog